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' (No Model.) 3 Sheetssheet 1.

' E. -J. HOWARD.

LAST.

Patented Oct. 30, 1894.

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`(No Model.) sham-sheen 2.

E. HOWARD LAST..

No. 528,296. Patented Oct. 30, 1894.

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(N` Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3` E. J. HOWARD.

LAST.

No. 528,296. Patented Oct. 30,v 1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. HOWARD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE HOUSEHOLD BOOT AND SHOE STRETCHER COM- PANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent o. 528,296, dated October 30, 1894. Application filed September 9,189-v3. Serial No. 485.190. (No modell To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. HOWARD, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like letters and figures on the drawings representing like parts. v I0 This invention relates to a last for boots and shoes, capable of shaping the boot or shoe after it has been made, so as to conform to the foot of the wearer.

Prior to this invention, I am aware that lasts have beenmade to shape specific parts of the boot or shoe, but such lasts, while more or less efficient for a specific purpose, are useless for other purposes, that is to say, a last which is provided with a toe lift is usezo less for shaping the boot or shoe to conform to a protuberance on the side or other part of the foot.

This invention has for its object to provide a last, which is practically universal in its use, that is, a last, which can be used to shape the boot or shoe to remedy any defective construction of the boot or shoe and to conform 'to any irregularity in the shape of the foot. Another feature of this inventionconsists 3o in making an automatically extensible last, which is capable of. fitting any size boot or shoe andcan be lengthened and shortened automatically to bring the operating part of the last at that portion-.of the boot or shoe to be operated upon.

In accordance with this invention, askeleton or last frame is provided, to which a number of attachments, having specific purposes as will be described, may be attached so as 4o to be readily and easily operated. The skeleton or last frame may and preferably will be made automatically extensible to enable the last to be quickly and easily applied to and removed from the boot or shoe. These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure l is a side elevation of one form of shaping last embodying this invention, the

y' 5.o skeleton or last frame being shown as provided With a toe attachment arranged to lengthen the boot or shoe; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of the last shown in Fig. l, the operating handle being broken out; Fig. 8, a top or plan view of the skeleton orlast frame shown in Fig. l, with the toe attachment removed and `the handle broken out; Fig. 4, a transverse section on the line 4 4., Fig. l, looking toward the right; Fig. 5, a side elevation, partially lbroken out, of a shoe show- 6o ing 4theshaping last inserted therein, the shoe being inverted to show the manner of unlocking the extensibleportion'of the last preparatory to removing the last from the shoe.- Fig.`.6, represents the shoe shown in Fig. 5 as 65 turned into a vertical position; Fig. 7, a detail in side elevation showing the manner of operating the toe attachment to raise or lift the toe of the shoe; Fig. 8, a side elevation of the skeleton or last frame and the attach- 7o ment for raising the instep, the latter being shown in elevated or operative position; Fig. 9, a plan View on an enlarged scale of the skeleton or last frame, partially broken out,

showing the symmetrical side attachments in their normal'position in full lines and in an expanded position by dotted lines, and Fig. l0, a top or plan view on an enlarged scale of the skeletonor last frame, showing vone form of unsymmetrical side attachments 8o in closed position Vby'full lines and in open or operative position by'dotted lines.

The skeleton or frame of the last forming the support for the various attachments, to

'be hereinafter described, may and preferably 8,5 will be made of metal, and may consist, as -herein shown, of a bottom .piece a, provided with laterally extended 'side flanges a a (see Fig. 3) thebottom piece a, as represented in Fig. 3, having at its front end a projection 9o a4. The bottom a and Aside Aangesa a2 are curved or shaped to conform to the general form of the sole of a boot or shoe, the bottom and side anges `being provided at their rear ends with an upright extension a5 and with 95 rearwardly extended side pieces a6 a7 herein shown as united at their top by a cross piece or band as. The side flanges a a2 have secured to Orforming part of them, upright iianges al@ @12, which extend Y rearwardly and roc are secured to or form part of the upright extension a5.

The skeleton or last frame referred to, carries an attachment operating device shown as a separate piece 0.13, provided at its front end as herein shown with curved or hooked fingers n.14 a and with a substantially wedgeshaped nose or projection ale. The attachment operating piece @13 is movable fore and aft on the skeleton or last frame, and may be operated as herein shown by means of a rod a provided at its front end with a screwthreaded extension als, projected through a screw-threaded hole or opening in the upright a5 and secured to the rear portion or cross piece 2 of the attachment operating piece als in any suitable manner, it being herein shown as loosely extended through the cross piece 2 and clamped between washers 3, 4, by a nut 5, but instead of the particular manner of securing the attachment moving piece d13 to the rod al", any other suitable or desired connection may be made. The attachment moving piece als is provided in the present instance with au inclined upper face 6 and with an upright stud or projection 7, for apurpose-as will be described.

The skeleton or last frame has secured to it a rearward extension, preferably made as herein shown, it consisting of a hollow sleeve b into which telescopes a bar b', provided as herein shown, with a heel seat b2. The sleeve l) is extended through a suitable opening in the upright a5 and is also preferably movable throughthe said opening, the said sleeve being limited in its forward movement as will be described. The sleeve b is made substantially flat on its upper side and is provided with rack teeth h3 forming a rack bar with which engages a pawl b, mounted upon a suitable pivot or pin b5 supported in the under side of the upright a5. The extension rod or bar b is also provided on its upper side with rack teeth b, with which co-operates a pawl` 127, pivoted in suitable ears ha at the rear of the sleeve b. The pawls b5 b" are preferably made as gravity acting pawls, so as to be engaged with the rack teeth b3 be respectively, when the last is in its normal position represented in Fig. l, and tobe disengaged from the said rack teeth or bars when the last frame is inverted or turned into the position shown in Fig. 5. This result is accomplished by constructing the rack teeth b5 b and the pawls b4b7after the manner shown in the drawings, that is, each rack tooth is provided with an inclined face extended toward the front of the last and with a straight face extended substantially at right angles to the rack bar of which the tooth forms a part, and each pawl is provided with an inclined face, which normally rests upon the inclined face of the rack tooth, and with a straight face, which normally engages the straight face of the said rack tooth, so that when the last is inverted, the pawlis free to drop out of engagement with the rack tooth by reason of the straight face of the pawl not being prevented from moving downward by the straight side of the rack tooth. The rack teeth b3 h6 are inclined as herein shown toward the front of the last, so that, when the latter is turned so as to move the front or toe of the last from a horizontal into a substantially vertical position, the extensions b b will be automatically extended, the section b' being limited in its extreme outward movement by a stop on the sleeve b, which stop in the present instance is shown as a set screw Z910 extended up through the bottom of the sleeve b and into a longitudinal guiding slot b12 in the under side of the bar b', the said set screw engaging the end of the slot Z112 when the section or bar ZJ is extended to its full length represented in Fig. 2.

Theioutward movement ofi the sleeve b is limited by a stop, which may be a screw b* represented in dotted lines, Fig. 2, the said screw engaging the upright` a5, and the forward movement of the said sleeve is limited in the present instance by the pawl 197 striking against the cross bar or band a8.

By means of the automatically extensible portion of the last, it will readily be seen that the last when inserted into the` boot or shoe and tipped in the proper direction, will automatically accommodate .itself to the length of the particular shoe with which it is used. The skeleton or last frame may and preferably will be constructedso as to permit of the use of a number of attachments or pieces differing in shape and size, and used for dierent purposes, as will be hereinafter described. The various faults, which a boot or shoe possesses after being made, and which are particularly objectionable on account of the discomiture afforded the wearer, may be IOO classed under four general heads, namely:

first, it is too short; second, the toe pinches; third, the instep binds; and fourth, it is too narrow. To overcome these faults, the skeleton or last frame herein shown may have applied to it aswill be described, first, atoe piece or attachment, which may be constructed to simply lengthen the toe or which may be so constructed as to possess the additional function of lifting the toe; second, an instep piece or attachment by which the instep may be raised; third, symmetrical side pieces or attachments by which the shoe may be widened without distorting or disiguring its sym metrical shape; fourth, unsymmetrical or irreg ular shaped side pieces or attachments by which one or both sides of the shoe may be widened or stretched to conform to irregularities of the foot.

In order that the operation of the last may be more clearly comprehended, I will specifically describe the operation of the various pieces or Referring to Figs. l and 2, B represents the toe piece or attachment, which, in the present instance, is made hollow on its under side and provided at its front end with a downattachments in the order specified.

wardly extended nose or proj ection 10, which rests against the inner sole of the shoe, the said attachment at its rear end being provided on its opposite sides with suitable lugs or projections ax, only one of which is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and which lock into and engage the fingers 0.14 a15 of the attachment moving piece Q13.

When the toe piece or attachment B is being used to lengthen the shoe and thereby overcome the first mentioned fault, it is pushed forward by the attachment moving piece a, which is itself forced forward by the threaded extension as of the actuating device or rod a17and by reason of the bottom of the last frame being made smooth or fiat on its upper surface in `contradistinction to a bottom provided with a raised portion at its toe portion, the toe piece or attachment is enabled to move forward in a straight line and is thereby enabled to lengthen the toe of the shoe without raising the same.

If it is desired to enable the toe piece or attachment B to perform the double duty of lengthening, and lifting or 'raising the toe of the boot or shoe, the said attachment may be provided on its under side with a pawl c (see Figs. 2 and 7) the said pawl being pivotally supported in the sides of the toe attachment B, and adapted to have its end extend into a depression or pocket c2 in the bottom a, of the skeleton or last frame.

The pawl c when engaged in the pocket'c2 with the toeattachment in the position it would normally occupy when inserted into a boot or shoe, which is, with the nose l0 abutting against the projection or front edge a4 on the bottom a, (the rod a" having been turned to withdraw the threaded extension (118 toward the rear of the last, to move the actuating piece L13 back from the position shown in Figs. l and 2 to near the upright portion a5 of the skeleton frame,) is prevented from moving forward bodily with the toe lattachment B, and consequently, as the attachment actuating piece (L13 is moved forward, the toe piece or attachment B is moved forward and at the same time upward, the pawl c acting as a jack to lift the toe attachment and turn its outer end upward substantially in a circle (see Fig. 7) with4 the lugs in engagement with the fingers n.14 1,15 as a center. As the outer end of the toe attachment is lifted, the toe portion of the boot or shoe is raised and the second mentioned fault is remedied.

The third fault above specified, namely, binding of the shoe at the instep, may be overcome by means of an instep piece' or attachment B" preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 8, it consisting of a preferably metallic piece, curved to conform to the general outline or shape of the instep of the foot, and constructed to be attached to the skeleton or last frame so as to pivot or turn at one end. In the present instance, the instep attachment B is provided at its front end with preferably two fingers c4, (see Fig. 8) one at each side of the attachment. t

The ngers c4 are preferably made as herein shown, they being provided with a forward extension 20, and are adapted to enter slots, openings or pockets c5 in the bottom of the skeleton or last frame, and have their extensions 20 project beneath a portion 2l of the skeleton or last frame, so as to lock the attachment B to the skeleton or last frame while it is being operated.

The attachment B has pivoted to its'under side a pawl d, which is adapted to engage the stud 7 on the attachment actuating piece. The stud 7 is located near the rear portion of the attachment actuating piece n.13, and the pawl d is made sufficiently short to enable the instep attachment b to fit close down to the actuating piece @13, when the latter is in its normal or retracted position near the upright a5, which enables the last with the instep attachment B coupled thereto, to be readily and easilyY inserted into the shoe D10, shown in Figs. 5 and 6, to be operated upon. When inserted into theboot or shoe D10, the handle a may be turned so as to move forward the attachment actuating piece a, and when the said actuating piece has been moved sufficiently far to bring its stud 7 into engagement with the pawl d, a further movement of the actuating piece w13 will tend to push the instep attachment BA forward, but by reason of its being pivotally secured at its lower front end to the last frame, the said instep attachment will be lraised upward, it turning on the ngers c4 as a pivot. The upward IOO movement of the instep attachment B lifts A or raises the instep of the boot or shoe, thereby correcting the third fault above mentioned.

I have thus far described the pieces or attachments by which three distinct faults in the boot or shoe may be corrected, and there remain to be described pieces or attachments,

for correcting the fourth fault, which is, that the boot 0r shoe is too narrow and consequently requires widening or stretching. A narrow boot or shoe binds at the side of the shoe, which fault may be due to the fact, that the shoe itself has been made too narrow, or which may be due to the fact, that the foot of the wearer has irregularities on its sides,

such for instance, as joints, corns, dac. The widenin g of the shoe may, therefore, be classified into two heads: first, the widening of shoes by symmetrical side pieces or attachments, which, While widening the shoe, still preserve the original symmetry or outline, and second, unsymmetrical side pieces or attachments, which may be of anyirregularity in shape to conform to the particular irregularity or defect on the foot of the wearer.

Referring to Fig. 9, I have shown the lastframe as provided with two symmetrical side pieces or attachments D D', which may be designated as right and left symmetrical side pieces or attachments. rlhese pieces or at- IIO tachments are made to conformtothe general shape of the boot or shoe and to uniformly widenzon both sides when actuated to stretch the shoe, as will be described. The pieces or attachments D D are provided at their rear portions with inwardly turned fin-` gers, not shown, which engage` slots cl2 d3 in the opposite sides of the upright portion' a5, which fingers bear against the sides of the slotsd2 d3 in the operation of the said pieces or attachments, and cause the latter to move out at their front end when moved bythe actuating piece als. The side pieces or attachments D D' are provided with inwardly extended curved arms d4 dspreferably made substantially wide, as herein shown,the said arms being extended through slots or open,- ings d`(see Figs. l and 8) in the upright side pieces 0.120,12 of the last frame, only oneoi` theslots d6 being plainlyshown in Figs. l, 7 and 8. Theiarms olL d5 are cast or otherwise fixed to :their attachments DD in such manner that one overlapsthe other when inserted through the slots d6, the arm d as shown in Fig. 9 lying upon the arm (Z5. Theisymmetrical side pieces or attachments DD normally occupy the-position shown by'full lines, Fig. 9, the substantially wedge-shaped nose a15 on the attachment actuating piece als being in engagement with the inner edge of both of the arms d d5, and when the attachment actuating piece a.13 is4 moved forward, the wedge'shaped nose o16 pushes against the arms d4d5 and forcesthe said arms from their full line position into their dotted line position, thereby moving the attachments D D. from their full line into their dotted line position, Fig. 9, the attachments during such movement swinging on the lingers in engagements with the slots cl2 d3 as pivots or centers. By an inspection ot' Fig. 9, it will be seen, that as the symmetricalside pieces or attachments DD are moved outwardly intotheir dotted line position, the boot or shoe is uniformly stretched on both sides and4 widened without disturbing the symmetry or original outline of the boot or shoe. In many instances, the boot orshoe, while ordinarily of suicient width, pinches or binds on the sides, owing to an wearer, which irregularity may be a corn, enlarged joint, &c. l To relieve the foot from the binding effect of` the shoe, the symmetrical side pieces or attachments D D may be replaced with side pieces or attachments D2 D2 provided with arms d7 d8 similar to the arms d4 d5 of the attachments D D. The attachments D2 D3 may be distinguished from the attachments D D by referring to them as unsymmetrical side attachments, they being provided with enlarged portions ot` suitable shape to stretch the boot at particularpoints.

The unsymmetrical side pieces or attachments D2 Da normal position by full lines, erative position by dotted lines,

are shown in Fig. lO in their and in their opthe said atirregularity in the foot of the` i tachments being secured in the slots d2d2 ot` the upright a5 ina similar manner to thesymmetrical side attachmentsD D. As representedV in Fig. 10, the side pieces or attachments D2 D2 are providednear their front ends `with enlarged` or bulgedout portions 30, 31, `but it is evident that thesaid.` side pieces or attachments may be of any desired or suitable contiguration or shape, according to the par ticular deformity or irregularity in the' f oot of the wearer.

As representedin Fig. 9, both symmetrical side1attachmentsDiD are secured to the last frame, and inv Fig.. l0, both of the unsymmeti-ical side attachmentsiaresecured to the last frame, but it is evident that-either ofthe unsymmetrical side attachmentsmay be used with` either of the symmetrical side attachments, as forinstance, if` a person has an irregularity, such for instance as a corn, onthe outside of the'foot, the attachment Dfmay be replaced by the attachment D2, if it were de sired. that the symmetry of the shoe should be preserved on its inner side; and if the outsideotl the footis symmetrical in shape and free fromirregularities, while the inside has an irregularity, such for instance asan enlarged joint, the symmetricalside attachment D in this case, may be replaced by the nnsymmetrical side attachment D3.

The instep piece or attachment B is shown in Fig. 8 as symmetrical in shape to conform to the shape of the instep ol?` the foot, but the said instep attachment maybemade ofl any desired configuration or shape to correspond to any irregularity inthe shape ofthe instep ofthe wearer.

The operation olr fitting the boot with the last provided with any one ofthe attachments referred to, may be readily understood by a detaildescription of the operation of the last frame provided with the toe lengthening attachment B. In the normal position of' the last before being inserted into the boot or shoe D10, the attachment actuating piece a. is drawn back substantially nearthe upright a5, and the toe piece or attachment B has its front end or projection lO abutting against the end a* of the last, the extensible portion of the last being closed and in the position shown in Fig. 6. The operator inserts the last withthe particular attachment to be used, which may be supposed to be the toe attachment as above specified, into the boot or shoe D10, holding the latterin a substantially horizontal position, and after the last has been inserted into the boot or shoe, the operator inverts or turns the boot or shoe into a substantially vertical position with its toe upward,

which permits the extensible portion ofz the IOO ward in a substantially straight line into substantially the position shown in Fig. l, thereby lengthening the boot or shoe.

After the woik performed by the attach-y ment has been accomplished, and it is desired to withdrawthelast from the shoe, the oper-Y ator turns the said last upside down or into substantially the position shown in Fig. 5, whereby the pawls b4 b7 are operated upon by gravity and are removed from engagement with their co-operatin g rack teeth b3 b, thereby leaving the rack bar b and the lsleeve b free to automatically close up when the shoe is turned into substantially a vertical position with the toe downward, as represented in Fig. 6, and when in this position, the last may be readily removed from the boot or shoe.

The extensible portion of the last is herein shown as composed of two parts, vim-the sleeve b and the rack bar b', but I do not desire to limit my invention to the particular number of parts comprising the extensible portion, as the number of vparts may beincreased or diminished, and furthermore, I do not desire to limit theautomatically extensible feature of the last to the particular construction of last frame herein shown.

I claim- 1. In a last for shaping boots and shoes, the combination with a last frame,ot a shaping piece or attach ment carried by said frame, an actuating device to operate said shaping piece or attachment, and an extensible portion attached to the last frame and automatically operated independent of the said actuating device, substantially as described.

2. In a last for sliapiiigboots and shoes, the combination with a last frame constructed to receive a plurality of pieces or attachments for shaping different parts of the boot or shoe, of a single attachment actuating device or piece carried by said frame and co-operating with each of said attachments, and an extensible heel portion attached to the last frame and automaticallyY operated independent of the said actuating device, substantially as described.

3. In a last for shaping boots and shoes, the combination with a last frame, of a toe attachment or piece andan actuating device to operate said t'oe attachment, and an extensible heel portion attached to the last frame and automatically operated independent of the said toe actuating device, substantially as described.

4.. In alast for shaping boots and shoes, the combination with a last frame, of acombined toe extending and lifting piece consisting of a toe piece and a pawl pivoted to the under side of the said toe piece and normally inactive when the toe piece is moved to lengthen without raising the toe of the shoe, and adapted to engage the last frame to cause the toe piece to move in the arc ofa circle to both lengthen and raise the toe of the shoe, and an actuating device operative upon the toe piece in both conditions, substantially as described.

5. In a last for shapingboots and shoes, the combination with a last frame provided with a plurality of attachments, of an actuating device to operate all the said attachments, and a detachable instep raising piece forming'one of said attachments, and normally inactive when the said device is operating one of the other attachments and provided with a pawl adapted to co-operate with the actuating device to render the instep piece active, substantially as described.

6. In a last frame for shaping boots and shoes, the combination with a last frame provided with side slots d2 d3, of sideattacliments having fingers at one end to engage said slots, and provided with arms adapted to extend across the last frame, and an actuating device to operate on said arms to turn the said attachments on their fingers as pivots, substantially as described.

7. In a last for shaping boots and shoes, the combinationfwith a last frame, of anautomatically extensible portion consisting ot a sleeve h, and a bar b movable in said sleeve, rack teeth on said sleeve and bar, and pawls co-operating with said rack teeth, substantialiy as described.

8. In a last for shaping boots and shoes, the combination with a last frame provided with side openings d6, of side pieces provided with arms normally extended through said openings, and means to act on said arms to operate said side pieces,snbstantially as described.

9, In a last for shaping boots and shoes, the

combination with a last frame, of a plurality of shaping pieces or attachments carried by said frame, a single actuating device operating each of said attachments, and an extensible heel portion attached to said last frame IOO and automatically operated independent of the said actuating device, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD J. HOWARD. Witnesses:

H. W. FRENCH,

JAS. H. CHURCHILL. 

